Day 19: Hello Koh Phangan!
A couple hours later Sofia and I arrive at the Full Moon Party Island and are piled into the back of a pickup truck taxi once again for a ride to our hostels. (I am beginning to love these taxis. The breeze and the views are incredible!) A twisty taxi ride later our driver forces all 9 of us backpackers out in the middle of the city with no idea how to get to each of our individual hostels. We gathered with our backpacks in the beating sun using the phones with data plans to look up where the heck we were. A short walk away we found Sofia’s hostel and then I was on my own! I wandered into town in the direction that the hostel staff had pointed me and ended up waterfall sweating while lost for about 30 minutes before arriving at the Palio hostel. It was a shady paradise of trees and plants with hammocks and lounging beanie chairs. Oh how I couldn’t wait for a shower and to relax in one of these hammocks!
After checking in I was taken to an 8 bed mixed dorm room that already had 2 guys in it that had also just checked in. This room was tiny compared to the last. I felt like I was sleeping in a treehouse. It would do the trick for a few nights though! My new roomies were very friendly and invited me to meet up with some other friends they had met in Bangkok a few days earlier. We walked around familiarizing ourselves with the town (which I had pretty much had down pat at this point haha) and then we met up with their other friends at The Corner restaurant. This was about a 4 minute walk from the hostel and a block off the beach so it became our meeting spot every morning and evening!
After a tasty lunch at The Corner we wandered toward the beach to see what Haad Rin (the Full Moon beach) was all about. The sand was soft and the water was beautiful but more green than Koh Tao. There were tons of people laying out, but no music from the beachside restaurants due to the King’s passing. We sat in the sun while enjoying the new company of everyone and hearing each other’s travel stories. There were people from Australia, the UK, Cambodia, California, and Finland. Such a hodge podge! I love it! We jumped in for a swim in the bay to discover it was much murkier than Koh Tao and very shallow. The water was still cool and did it’s job well.
We then headed up a large trail of stairs that led up the side of the bay to a viewpoint bar, Mellow Mountain. From here we watched a beautiful sunset over Haad Rin beach as the evening charm of the beachfront restaurant’s lights began to gleam. Sofia and I soon split from the group in pursuit of our first pizza on our travels. We stopped at a place approaching our hostels and ordered one for each of us! They were surprisingly good and very satisfying!
I ended the night with a swing in the hammocks that I had been in search of the whole trip!
Day 20: Full Moon Party
Ahhh, a full day soloing on a new island! How exciting! The Full Moon Party is tonight… whatever that means. The vibe is really hard to read. There are still tons of people that have flocked to the island and buckets (your choice of alcohol and mixer) were being sold every 10 feet on the beach last night. So it appears there will be quite a party still, but rumor has it there will be no music in honor of the King.
A friend from Koh Tao recommended a nice beach to visit here that was only accessible by taxi boat, so I decided that would be my plan for the day! Sofia’s sister, Sonja, had just flown in that morning as well for the party. I met them at The Corner for breakfast to start the day. Sofia and Sonja are from Finland and the most beautiful and sweet sisters ever! Sonja is currently a foreign exchange student in Bangkok so she was able to fly in for a few day to meet us! After my fresh strawberry banana smoothie we came to the conclusion that we would need some massages before heading to the other beach for the day.
A delightful hour later we were relaxed and covered in coconut oil! (This massage was a little pricier than Koh Tao at a whopping $10.) We hopped in one of the many waiting taxi boats and were taken just around the bay to the next beach up, Haad Yuan. This was a smaller bay with much less people and a deeper swimming area. There were chairs to lay out in and a few restaurants. It was perfect!
After some sun and swims we worked up an appetite and decided to check out the restaurant that was once again up a lot of steps but would give a great lunch view. We walked up the sketchy bridge and stairs to find a nice place called the Bamboo Hut. I had my first plate of Massaman Curry with Pork and Rice! It was a good amount of spice and very delicious!
Our taxi boat arrived back to pick us up and we headed back through town to do some shopping on our way back to the hostels. (Our hostel was having a free body paint pre-party and I quickly realized that I would need a different outfit for the night.) Sonja went to take a nap while Sofia and I got ready for the night and sat out at her hostel’s pool. We walked to the nearest dinner spot, My Friend’s, where I introduced them to No Name and indulged in some more garlic bread!
Back at the hostel, the festivities began! They had music and provided us free body paint and a free bucket to kickstart the night. I met a group of guys from Chile that were a ton of fun! I made a deal with them to give them a painting if they’d give me something! The results were great. I gave them a mermaid, a sun, and a gecko. They gave me a Texas flag, a moon, a necklace, and a lizard. They then introduced me to a fun drinking game called Horse Races where you literally bet a sip on a card and watch them race to the finish line. Loved it!
About the time that everyone was painted and ready to head to the beach party it started thundering and raining! It made for an interesting but fun night! As we approached the beach we didn’t hear much music other than those with their own, but there were still massive crowds of people hanging out and dancing to the beat of their own drum in the rain. We finally walked down to the end of the beach to take a picture with the neon Full Moon Party sign when we heard a faint pounding of music. We looked up to discover a bar that was blaring music up on the hill! Wouldn’t you know it was called The Rock beach bar! Hahaha just like in Koh Tao! We had an absolute blast dancing the night away up here.
And I indulged in the best street food on my way home, a chicken sandwich!
Day 21: Muay Thai Boxing
A lazy day at it’s best! The whole island was quiet and sleeping! Once everyone woke up we met at… you guessed it, The Corner, for breakfast. The stories of everyone’s nights were amazing! Lots of laughs and good memories. Everyone headed to the beach while I went back to my hostel hammock to enjoy an afternoon lounging in the jungle. I arranged travel plans for the next day and had some pad thai take away! Solid afternoon.
That evening we regrouped for a taxi ride to the Amstardam Bar for sunset. This place was an incredible viewpoint on the island. It was way up on a hill and had an excellent view of the ocean and surrounding islands.
We headed back to my hostel a few hours later to get tickets for the well-advertised Muay Thai Boxing match. Upon arrival I see the best of faces, Abby! She found me! We went for a walk to catch each other up on our lives for the past few days and to show her the area and beach since we were leaving in the morning for Phuket.
Back at the hostel it was time to get a seat inside the gym. (I think I forgot to mention our hostel is just about connected to this Thai boxing gym haha.) We snagged some second row seats and waited for the action. Oh… wait. What? Some kids approach the arena all wrapped up ready to fight and we cringe a little at the thought. Surely not?! Turns out they were only the opening act and seemed to perform more of an opening ceremony and blessing to the match. Next, the 10 year olds came out though and they did indeed fight. It all led up to the final match (between adults) a couple hours later. An interesting last night in Koh Phangan!
Day 22: Goodbye Koh Phangan
We packed up our backpacks that seemed to be unexplainable growing larger and heavier. (I know I mention shopping a lot, but I think I’ve only ended up with like 2 small things…so not sure what’s going on.) A cab ride later we were back at the pier for another long day of travel. A 1.5 hour ferry ride back to the mainland and a 6 hour bus ride from Thailand’s eastern gulf coast to Phuket on the western coast.
A short, but sweet trip to the island of Koh Phangan! The Full Moon Party was a blast and definitely worth the visit here. I cannot imagine one of these parties in full effect! It was a fun and learning experience traveling alone for a few days, but I’m glad to have my travel partner back as we head to a new place. Phuket or Bust!
Wander On,
Sammi Kaye
What a great update. Wander on!